Walk into the Judith A. Resnik Elementary School, a one-level, expansive plant on a rolling tract of land in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in Montgomery County, about 20 miles north of Washington, D.C., and you are immediately struck by words -- words of significance -- on a floor mat featuring the emblem of the nine-year-old school. Trustworthiness. Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. Caring. Citizenship. Almost immediately, the visitor comes to an intersection of two corridors, one marked Helping Others Highway, the other Right Street. Above, a poster reads, "Character Counts." Encompassing 700 youngsters from pre-school years through the fifth grade, it would seem to be a typical institution -- except that roughly one-fourth of its student population require special services of some kind -- that is, either they have special learning needs, or they are orthopedically or neurologically challenged. In the following interview, its principal, Dr. Roy Settles, whose perspective and philosophy have been shaped by his personal history, explains how the school is unique, on the one hand, and on the other, mirrors current trends and issues in primary and secondary schools across the United States.

Question: What is your sense of what is different about education in the United States today, as opposed to a decade or more ago?

Settles: First of all, it's a different society today. The dynamics are different. We're looking at the urbanization of a suburban school. We have many characteristics that urban schools have. Our children are exposed to much more today. The communications stimuli bombard our students; they are born into communicating quickly -- getting information coming in their direction quickly. So they're growing up being much more aware. A long time ago, you were much more reliant upon what you got from home, what the teacher said to you, what you may have gotten from television. Today, the children can get information from everywhere more quickly. That contributes. Transportation is such that people can get from one corner of a city to another fast. We're living in a different culture. Communication is heightened. People are more mobile. Development is occurring. Therefore, the schools directly reflect these concurring dynamics right now. When I came to Montgomery County in 1979, there were predominantly Caucasian students, black students, and a sprinkling of Hispanics and Asians. Now, looking at this school, with homes built around it, it is diverse in many ways.

Q: Tell me about the ethnic/racial breakdown.

A: Forty-two percent are Caucasian, 22 percent are African American, about the same amount Hispanic, and the rest -- about 15 percent -- are Asian. But let's look at diversity another way -- at how the instructional program is designed to meet the needs of children from varied experiences and backgrounds. We're talking about being able to teach all children, given their modalities of learning, their different levels of intelligence, their experiential backgrounds. That all comes first. We have to be equipped, in today's culture, to have our instructional program engaging, motivating and appropriate, with clarity and momentum. Then we weave into it cultural points, so children see themselves in the curriculum. What I call "culturalizing the curriculum" has to occur in a matter-of-fact, natural way.

Q: Your interest with regard to diversity extends to the staff as well, I understand.

A: Well, not directly proportionate to the student body. But keep in mind that this school was philosophically, and structurally, designed to have a regular education program and also one for students with neurological and/or orthopedic concerns. So that's a part of how it came to life. That's why our halls are wide, our office space is wide, the bathrooms have accommodating space, the doors open automatically. We have one level. In this school, we have students who are ambulatory, others who use walkers, others who are wheelchair-mobile, some who might need certain types of accommodations or adaptations with regard to instructional programs -- special word processing equipment or desks, staff support to help with writing. We are given the staffing and financial resources to deal with all of this. In the neurological/orthopedic program, we're talking about 30 children. But there are large numbers of "resource children" with learning disabilities or emotional concerns who form an additional aspect of our programming. We have one faculty member who's wheelchair-mobile, and in order to enable her to perform professionally as well as she would like to, the system gives her a teaching assistant to help with some of her physical needs.

Q: We seem to have moved from mainstreaming -- that is, bringing children into regular schools but then placing them in special classes -- to inclusion -- making them an integral part of the regular classroom -- as a philosophy for special needs. Is that typically the case?

A: Well, we're really looking at what we call the "least restrictive environment," or LRE, as we term it in this county. That means that we want to give the students the types of support they need to be successful. That could mean, for example, that a wheelchair-mobile child can be in the regular classroom all day, with someone coming in on a consultative basis to collaborate with the regular teacher. In this school, as in others, it is common for children with various abilities to be included in the regular education format. That represents a huge change in education over the past couple of decades.

Q: Let's talk for a moment about bilingual education. In the old days, a century ago, during earlier waves of immigration, it was "sink or swim" for the newcomers. What is happening today, in terms of reaching out to this generation of immigrants?

A: We now have a greater influx of Hispanic and Asian students coming to us with varying levels of understanding English. Last week, we accepted an Asian-American child who knew no English. With more of that happening, the schools must do several things at one time. First, they must train the parents. That wasn't the case years back. We have to bring parents in, teach them what to do at home, how to address homework, what types of questions to ask. We explain to them basics, like what a report card is, how it's composed -- things we would take for granted before. Also, we now have to get as many resources as possible from varied aspects of our communities. We have to include parents, the corporate world, and social agencies to help us -- to teach children after school and during the summer, to give them experiential types of learning activities.

Q: There's a lot of evidence that despite the growth of the two-career households, parental involvement in schools, and in their children's education, is expanding. What is the degree of such involvement at your school, and how do you foster it?

A: The dynamics of today's society are such that parents have to be included in some of the school-based management activities that they were not included in in earlier years. For example, my former school was a site-based managed school, with parents, faculty and administrators actually sitting down together to make decisions about curriculum, about staffing, about how the money was being spent. That's one example. Quality management councils have been introduced into the county schools -- in which parents, faculty and administrators formally collaborate on the management of the schools.

Q: To play the devil's advocate, U.S. education flourished for nearly two centuries without parents being intimately involved in significant decision-making in their children's schools. Why is it necessary now?

A: Today, parents are much more educated and aware of many aspects of the educational process than they were years back. With regard to educating our parents, we make an extra effort to provide information to them -- brochures, videotapes. It's common that school systems are doing a much better job of informing and educating parents. This is a group that understands what the needs and demands are, what the philosophy is. They come to the table aware of things they weren't aware of before. Therefore, we need them to be more involved. Because of the dynamics of our society, we cannot do it alone anymore. There are too many demands. We have to educate formally. We have to be counselors, to deal with kids who are having problems in their home or health concerns. We have to hold hands with the parents and with community organizations, to collaborate for the well-being of the kids.

Q: Give me an example of that reaching out.

A: I've established "principal coffees." In my biweekly newsletter to parents, I ask to be invited to someone's home in the evening. Once a month, a parent volunteers to be host, and we publicize the event. The parents coalesce at that home. I introduce the evening by saying I'm available for an open, honest discussion of the concerns they have about aspects of school life. The parents, in a forthcoming, brutally honest manner, communicate what's on their minds. I take notes, and bring them back to our monthly advisory council meetings -- which include parents -- and discuss those concerns. So we have that connection. I think going into the home is symbolic of an outreach effort. You have to include them in the decision-making process, but also go out to them.

Q: Your staff also can be described as diverse.

A: Yes, we have Hispanic and Asian staff members, and a woman from India. It is critical for the students' self-esteem to see staff members, in leadership capacities, who are like them. I also think it is important for students in our more homogeneous schools to encounter staff members of varying ethnicities -- as well as it is important for them to include in the curriculum aspects touching on various cultures. It's imperative to have staff members that reflect the student population -- although if you're a good teacher, you should relate to every student.

Q: I understand you've been dealing with ethnicity among the professionals themselves.

A: For years, I've been teaching a course on ethnic roots in American society -- a required in-service course for all professionals who are new to Montgomery County schools. I explain how to teach children in a multicultural setting, and how to get along with fellow staff members of various roots. It's imperative that staff members know about various holidays and celebrations, and how to conduct oneself on other occasions. For example, what do you bring to a "shiva" (Jewish mourning) house? We're proud of being sensitive to some of the idiosyncrasies of varied cultures in this county.

Q: It's obvious, from so many indicators visible to anyone entering the building, that you believe in establishing character traits in people beginning at the earliest age possible.

A: Absolutely. We all contribute to building the character of our children, and the school has to do its part. And parents agree with that -- when once they felt it was their role alone. Our guidance advisory council -- which also includes parents -- looks at how and what we give to our children. That prevents any conflict over roles. It's a prime example of how collaborative or participatory decision-making is critical. We weave character into the curriculum. The children read about it, write about it and talk about it. The test is how they perform when they're not around you -- when they're in the playground and there's a conflict. Will they use what we've taught?

Q: An April 2000 USA Today/CNN poll noted that despite some incidents of violence that have occurred in schools in different parts of the United States over the past few years, 68 percent of those surveyed believed that their children's schools had done the right amount to keep their students safe. Taking your school as a case in point, explain what you do to maintain as safe an environment as possible.

A: First of all, safety is our number one priority, and you communicate that very clearly to students, staff and parents. Every year, at our back-to-school night, I stand before the packed room and tell them that. If the children are physically and psychologically safe, they are available for learning. If our staff members are physically and psychologically safe, then they can teach all day -- which is why they're here. And parents can rest and relax at home or at their jobs, knowing that the children are safe. But after having said that, you're talking about doing everything that's reasonable and prudent to ensure, to the best of your ability, that indeed everyone's safe. There are practices that we're relentless about. Nobody can enter our building without going directly to the office, signing a form and getting a visitor's sticker. Volunteers wear badges to that effect. Children know that they cannot set foot out of their classroom without a pass in their hands. I'm rigid about that. Staff members and the children have been taught to notify the office immediately if they see someone without a badge or sticker in our building or on our grounds. The children are alert, and share quickly. Our building services staff, as part of their role, police the grounds. That gives us extra eyes. So what makes me rest much better -- given a large elementary school, very much in the open -- is that I know that everyone knows what's expected in terms of safety and security.

Q: On balance, from what you've seen and read, from what your colleagues and peers are saying, what is your impression of the public school system in the United States, from the front line?

A: I think we are focusing very deliberately on our quality of instruction. I feel that we are improving -- that children, for example, are learning to read well, with comprehension, and are increasing their ability with regard to numeracy. And we're attracting 90 percent of the children in the United States. I went to private school myself, and sent my children to private schools at times, but I brought them back to public education. We desperately want to meet the challenge. I feel confident regarding our accountability efforts that we have to have in place. We have to show the community how well we are progressing, so I like those efforts. We've found out, too, that it is absolutely essential that we devote an appropriate amount of our budget to ongoing, cyclical retraining in the schools and as a county. I had to take a course this year on the observation and analysis of teaching -- fascinating! -- to enable me to be better equipped at what I do. So I feel we are rising to the challenge.

Q: Your roots are relevant to the goals you've set for yourself, aren't they?

A: They are. I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. My family lived not far from Central High School [site of one of the tense chapters in the history of court-mandated desegregation of public education in the 1950s and 1960s]. It's part of my collective memory, and it gives me an appreciation of how far we've come in this country as a society.

----------

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Government.